Arcadia Grille | Behind the Food

Robin Muntean has cherished childhood memories of Saturday shopping with her family in downtown Canton and wintertime skating on the downtown rink. “I’m a big part of bringing Canton back,” said Muntean, who bought the downtown Italian staple Arcadia Grille at the beginning of 2019, after working there for 17 years as a waitress, cook and manager. The Arcadia’s website said it has been in business for more than 85 years.

A Q&A with Robin Muntean of Arcadia Grille

Robin Muntean has cherished childhood memories of Saturday shopping with her family in downtown Canton and wintertime skating on the downtown rink.

“I’m a big part of bringing Canton back,” said Muntean, who bought the downtown Italian staple Arcadia Grille at the beginning of 2019, after working there for 17 years as a waitress, cook and manager. The Arcadia’s website said it has been in business for more than 85 years.

She bought the restaurant at 321 Court Avenue NW from longtime friend Maria Byington. “We’re very close, more like sisters. We kind of adopted each other,” said Muntean, who in addition to owning and overseeing the Arcadia is a bus driver for Plain Local Schools.

Q. The Arcadia has been open forever. Do you have a lot of regulars? A. “I have a lot of loyal regulars. When they walk in, I already know what they’re drinking, and most of the time, what they’re eating, too. The customers are fantastic people.”

Q. How did you decide to buy the place? A. “Maria approached me, said she was tired and ready to retire and would I be interested in taking over. Everything was transitioned right over to me. I basically stepped right in.”

Q. Have you made any changes? A. “Yes. We did a major cleaning. I put in new carpeting. I bought new kitchen equipment, put new lighting in the kitchen, started updating the lighting in the bar area. Getting ready to work on the patio and make a bunch of changes out there. There’s still a lot I want to do, just taking it one step at a time.”

Q. And you also hired a chef? A. “I did. His name is Larry Lupperger. He’s worked at the McKinley Grand, Nathan’s Patio and the Hilton in Orlando. We’ve been coming up with daily specials Monday through Friday, lunch and supper.”

Q. Let’s talk food. What do you recommend from the menu? A. “The most popular are our pork chops and our scrod and the Leroy Kelly burger. Leroy’s the football player who comes in twice a year, during Hall of Fame and also for Renee Powell’s golf outing. We’ve got homemade meat lasagna and chicken parm. Our spaghetti sauce is still original; it will never be changed. We have a different homemade soup every day. We’ve introduced a new Italian chicken stew. We’re also doing a stuffed pepper soup, and we still have our famous chili and chicken pastina soup.”

Q. Plus, you serve breakfast daily, correct? A. “Breakfast is going very strong. You can get breakfast all day, starting (weekdays) at 9 a.m., and Saturday and Sunday at 8.”

Q. It sounds like a lot of good things are coming to Arcadia Grille. A. “I want to build the business back up. There’s a lot going on downtown, and I want us to be back on the map again.”